5 New Technologies on their way to Shake Up Construction

5 New Technologies on their way to Shake Up Construction

The Construction Industry is going to change over the next few decades in much more dramatic ways than ever before. Customers are starting to expect more from the houses they purchase. They’re looking for better efficiencies or renewable power sources, they want bespoke looks, as well as value for money.

To keep up with these new demands the construction industry is going to need to adopt new techniques and new technologies. There’s a broad selection of new technology on its way for construction and we’ve picked out 5 of the latest examples which could change the face of construction forever:

Autonomous drones are being used to map construction sites digitally, these sites can often be hazardous to workers and as such surveying aerially from a drone is faster and safer for all involved.

As systems improve drones should lessen the likelihood of defects or errors as they’re incredibly accurate at identifying any during the construction process, making the entire process from start to finish much more cost efficient.

Drones fly above the site and take high res photos. With those images and uses photogrammetry, technicians can get high quality point clouds and even 3D images from the photos. With the advent of machine intelligence, drones are always getting smarter and more capable in these areas.

3D printing is being used in many industries and is proving to be an incredibly adaptable technology. NASA has recently announced it will be using more than 100 3D printed parts in its Orion Spacecraft for instance. However most interesting to us is its use within construction. We’ve seen 3D printing start to be put into use in the developing world, creating more cost efficient structures in-situ in areas with poor connection to the national grid or roads, things impossible without the technology.

Essentially a scaled up version of the standard 3D printer draws the walls of the house in place using a nozzle on a frame squirting concrete. These walls are slowly drawn over again and again over hours, creating a full structure which then only requires windows installing etc. The process allows houses to go up much quicker and use less materials in doing so, meaning that the end product could be much cheaper and less impactful on the environment.

Budget is obviously very important to any development and BIM is an incredibly potent tool in helping developers keep to it. BIM is essentially a process in which the physical and functional characteristics of places are represented digitally. Adopting BIM has allowed construction data to be passed along to building managers, better equipping them for the maintenance of the building and again increasing efficiency all round.

Smart Devices

The universal availability of smart devices has made time consuming jobs like checking the project over for faults or last minute objectives much less difficult. Newly developed apps and mobile based solutions allow information to be inputted far more easily but are paperless, allowing information to be shared instantly and with no loss. This data can then be read instantly by others elsewhere, allowing projects to move along faster.

Virtual Reality

There’s truly no tool better for visualising a project than virtual reality. Customers can literally take virtual tours of developments while they’re still in construction, experiencing in a way that was simply impossible before VR. Visualisation at this level is a potent sales tool but it also has potential for engineers and building controllers, allowing the flexibility to view the structure whenever needed and to show any issues or important points to other members of staff as and when is needed.